SNL's "Sopranos" Parody is Sorta Familiar

Sure, it was hilarious. But was it biting off a MADtv sketch from 17 years ago?

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Sure, it was hilarious. But was it biting off a MADtv sketch from 17 years ago?

It's a cause for celebration when Saturday Night Live actually makes us keel over laughing. It happened this past weekend thanks to a sketch about a Sopranos prequel in which Tony (played perfectly by Bobby Moynihan), Paulie, Silvio, and the rest of the gang were back in high school. Based off the fact that there's currently a Sex and the City prequel called The Carrie Diaries on the CW (what, you haven't been watching?), "The Sopranos Diaries" seems particularly timely. Problem is, the premise—and execution—is remarkably similar to a sketch called "Casino Man" that was on MADtv (RIP) almost 17 years ago. Starring the great Artie Lange as a Joe Pesci-like mobster terrorizing a high school, the jokes, the language, and even the look of the sketches are virtually the same. Why don't you be the judge…capeesh?